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It was widely reported that Assassin’s Creed Mirage started out as Assassin’s Creed Valhalla DLC. Ubisoft didn’t quite acknowledge those reports until now, as it has recently opened up about the early versions of the project.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s pitch went very well, according to Ubisoft
As reported by Game Informer, creative director Stephane Boudon said the team wanted to have Valhalla protagonist Eivor travel to the Middle East for the next Valhalla expansion. Previous DLC has brought the hero to France, Ireland, and the dwarven realm of Svartalfheim, so the Middle East would have just been another stop on their journey.
“At first, we were working on Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and the DLC, and the idea came up to create a specific expansion for Valhalla and go back to the Middle East,” said Boudon. “We wanted, as a longtime fan of the series, to go back to this environment [and those] vibes. And it was also near the 15th anniversary of the brand. So it was for us, something we wanted to bring back for the player.”
However, Boudon noted that the pitch went so well that it was greenlit to be a stand-alone game. According to Boudon, Mirage was only DLC for a few weeks because the team was hoping that it would become its own thing.
“It’s funny because we did the full work for the pitch for a DLC, but at the end, we already saw on working on the pitch that it could be something so at the end, we [ended] the presentation with, ‘But it can be more,’” said Boudon. “So we pushed a little bit and it worked and was wonderful for everybody.”
Mirage is seemingly straddling the line between DLC and full-fledged entry, as it is going to be shorter than the recent three entries, as well as less expensive, but bigger than any Assassin’s Creed DLC to date. However, that scope puts it in line with the franchise’s early installments, which is fitting for those who have disliked the bloat of its RPG installments.